(Newswire.net — July 12, 2019) — Jewelry making has grown in popularity over the last decade. Many consumers are starting to prefer handmade jewelry over mass-produced jewelry. But understanding why handmade jewelry is so popular requires you to know a thing or two about the techniques used. Here are some of the jewelry techniques used to make jewelry.
Jewelry Techniques
Some jewelry techniques include assembled jewelry making, wire wrapped jewelry, fabricated jewelry, beaded jewelry and more.
- Assembled Jewelry Making
This is the simplest type of handmade jewelry and is a great way to offer personalized jewelry at a reasonable price. This technique involves creating bracelets, earrings and necklaces from pre-made jewelry findings, charms and chain. This is the perfect way to start jewelry making because you can learn simple assembly techniques in just a few minutes.
- Wire Wrapped Jewelry
Handmade wire wrapped jewelry features a lot of wire. Most jewelers use this technique to create charms or pendants with beads or stones. The simplest form of wire wrapped jewelry is a decorated frame accentuated with other ornaments that are attached to coils of wrapped wire. Depending on the design, jewelers may utilize a few different gauges of wire. This technique takes time and practice to master.
- Fabricated Jewelry
This jewelry technique covers a broad range of styles from creative art jewelry to traditional gemstone rings. Fabricated jewelry uses jewelry bench skills and metalsmithing techniques. Jewelers use a metal straw to cut intricate details of the piece or cut out the piece’s basic shape and soldering is commonly used to attach components to each other. This can be as complex as having multiple solder joins or simply attaching two pieces. This technique also takes time and dedication to learn.
- Beaded Jewelry
Depending on the beads used, handmade beaded jewelry can be some of the most intricate or simplest jewelry designs. Jewelers typically use beads on a stringing material to create necklaces and bracelets. Some of these beads may include a combination of smaller beads and a large statement bead, fun-shaped beads to show off interests or numbers and letters for personalization. However, makers can create larger and more intricate designs with some tiny beads and quite a bit of practice.
- Hand Stamped/Engraved Jewelry
This technique allows makers to create personalized custom jewelry for their customers. It’s an easy craft to begin and requires only a few simple tools and techniques. Creating designs involves using a heavy hammer to hammer a metal blank with a metal stamp impression. Most of these tools are readily available to hobbyists as well as professionals. Make sure that if you’re working with sterling silver jewelry, that you know how to properly care for it.
- Enameled Jewelry
This technique allows you to add great pops of color onto your metal jewelry pieces. Enameling basically refers to the process of creating a permanent bond between glass and metal by fusing glass powder to the surface of a metal. There are several different ways to add enamel to handmade jewelry. Torching is the most popular technique used today. Torching is a simple and affordable enameling technique because you can use a soldering torch to heat up the enamel on your metal.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re looking to make a career move, start a side hustle or just take up jewelry making as a hobby, there are lots of ways to learn. These jewelry techniques should guide you towards your dream to market and sell your jewelry and can help you to learn different tricks when it comes to jewelry making such as sizing a ring down and much more. As with most trades, be sure to practice.